


#Instalove @thecakebarn

by la_chicas_mix



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alexis makes a brief appearance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternative Perspective, Instagram, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Alternating, Social Media, The Cake Barn, a couple of original characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_chicas_mix/pseuds/la_chicas_mix
Summary: David needed a job. No, wait – David’s father needed David to get a job. Apparently, the credit cards still need to be paid? - So after asking around, David found something a bit more up his street: running the social media for a bakery.Instagram was ok, Patrick supposed. To be totally fair, nothing had caught his eye so far, until one day he got one of those “Suggested for you” recommendations and one of the accounts jumped right at him. Intrigued, Patrick clicked on the profile to have a look.***Alternative first meeting , where David works at a bakery and Patrick is really into nutty cakes.***The following fic contains scenes with coarse language. Reader discretion is advised.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 48
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for the cringy title - I put it down as a joke to start with, and it kinda stuck :D
> 
> (Alternating POV after each ***)

Patrick only joined Instagram because Ray convinced him that it could actually be good for business. The social aspect of _social media_ was secondary to him.

“I can keep an eye on what real estate agents in other areas are doing. And I get lots of closet organisation ideas! You can follow whatever you are into! What are you into, Patrick? What are your hobbies?”

Patrick had to think a bit about this. Not having been on social media before meant that he wasn’t really sure what kind of stuff was available to follow.

“Well, baseball mainly, I suppose. And singer-songwriters. And this may sound ridiculous, but also cakes? I’m really into pretty cakes”, he admitted blushing a bit. He didn’t know Ray that well yet, and suddenly this admission felt a bit too intimate to be sharing out with strangers.

Baking and decorating cakes was one of the few remaining activities that he could still bond with his mother about. Marcy had started teaching Patrick how to bake at an early age and it used to be their Saturday morning one-to-one favourite pastime. As years went by and Patrick became a teenager, the baking had taken more of a secondary place in his life, prioritising ball games and going out with friends above it. Marcy understood and never pushed him to get back into baking. But once Patrick grew into a young adult and started spending more time again with his parents, the occasional baking session still took place from time to time.

“That is good, Patrick! Lots to get you started!” Ray exclaimed excitedly as he borrowed Patrick’s phone and found some accounts for him to follow. He then proceeded to explain how hashtags, mentions and stories worked. Patrick felt so stupid having someone older than him explaining social media but being new in town also meant having to learn many new things, about life and himself. Even if that meant getting an Instagram account.

He had been renting a room at Ray’s for two weeks now and, despite the fact that it was slightly awkward having a “roommate” at his age, after having been living in his own apartment for such a long time, living with him was nice. He was a nice guy and made his life quite easy. He cooked breakfast for him almost every day. He was very chatty but never pushed for personal details when Patrick didn’t offer any. He included Patrick in many activities with other townspeople. And basically, had given him a job and a room at a moment’s notice without any references, when this would have been impossible in any other place.

***

David needed a job. No, wait – David’s _father_ needed David to get a job. Apparently, the credit cards still need to be paid? Or whatever. He really didn’t care. So after asking around (nothing in trend forecasting? Outrageous) and having a very unsuccessful run as a bagboy at the local grocery shop, David found something a bit more up his street: a job at a bakery.

The job advert had caught his attention straight away. Not only because **_cakes!,_** but also because he saw the perfect opportunity to cultivate some of his artistic side that had been a bit eclipsed since arriving in Schitt’s Creek.

**_The Cake Barn_ ** _is Elmdale’s largest bespoke, hand-made Cake / Bakery business, open 7 days a week. We are a fast-growing company (probably the fastest growing cake company in Canada!) and aim to become one of Ontario’s largest Cake Makers._

_ Job Summary:  _

_As our business is expanding, we are now in need of a bakery runner/ assistant / social media guru. The role will be based in Elmdale, 3/4 days a week, alongside of the cake decorating team. The shift times can vary._

_ Job Responsibilities  _

  * _Assisting the staff when preparing the cakes_
  * _Help packing cakes for dispatch alongside the dispatch team._
  * _Can work both as part of a team and independently_
  * _Produce marketing content to enhance our brand and announce new features_
  * _Creating new and exciting copy content for social media, website builds, blogs, print and digital adverts_
  * _Using all major social media platforms_



He lacked the relevant qualifications and experience, however David managed to build a good rapport with Wendy, the owner of the bakery, and he got the job.

He didn’t want to tell his family, and on the outside David always had this façade as if he was doing the job for the money alone, but in reality he absolutely loved it. He enjoyed the company of his co-workers, in particular Samantha, the main baker – who was just so sweet and hilarious, but who didn’t take any crap from David – particularly when he insisted in testing every single new recipe that she tried. He obviously adored the cakes, even when he wasn’t able to steal a taste from the batter mixture or the new chocolate samples that kept arriving. And he particularly loved the feeling of being good at something again. The feeling of belonging. He had been able to translate his very specific black and white aesthetic into the field of cakes, completely transforming the public image of the bakery within a couple of weeks.

Long gone were the badly lit photos on social media, the crowded cabinets at the bakery, the trashy decorations around the store… David had taken good care of that and transformed The Cake Barn into a delicate and artful brand, despite the store name still making him gag every time he had to type it out.

***

Instagram was ok, Patrick supposed. To be totally fair, nothing had caught his eye so far, and he was starting to wonder if he had been right all this time about avoiding social media altogether. Until one day he got one of those “Suggested for you” recommendations and one of the accounts jumped right at him.

The name of the account, the Cake Barn, was ridiculous, however the profile photo was stunning. It was a closeup of a cake, the photo taken from above, which was on itself quite unusual. It was a very simple cake, but delicately decorated, with touches of black flowers and gold petals scattered over a glassy white base.

Intrigued, Patrick clicked on the profile to have a look.

The account seemed fairly new, with only a handful of photos posted so far – but judging by the few photos there, this was an account worth following. Patrick was impressed with every single photo. Some were of the same cake, but the images were taken from different angles, highlighting the little details that made that cake stand out from the rest he had seen so far in other accounts.

So Patrick hit the follow button and commented in a few of the photos. Just generic comments, sentences like “this is stunning”, “beautiful piping”, or “oh my god, this looks so good”, but enough to show the bakery that he appreciated their cakes.

***

David knew these things took time but he was still a tiny bit worried about the lack of followers on the Cake Barn’s Instagram account. It had been two weeks since he opened the account and he _only_ had 50 followers. Not quite the hundreds that he had promised Wendy for the first month. He needed to up his game.

He read somewhere that one of the best tricks to “cheat” the Instagram algorithm was to interact with followers. That way your profile would be recommended to people with similar interests. The next step would be to sponsor posts but he was going to wait and see if could grow the follower count more organically.

And that’s how he started replying to the comments that had been posted in the photos so far. David noticed a recurring theme quite quickly. This PBrewer13 person had commented in every single photo. Wow, they must really like cake – David thought.

 **PBrewer13** : This is stunning  
**The Cake Barn** : Thank you! It is, isn’t it? Even if I say so myself (DR)

 **PBrewer13** : Beautiful piping  
**The Cake Barn** : It is my design, I loved sketching it (DR)

 **PBrewer13** : oh my god, this looks so good  
**The Cake Barn** : It is, actually! (DR)

To David’s surprise, the notifications in his Activity started appearing as soon as he had replied.  
“ **PBrewer13** liked your comment”  
“ **PBrewer13** mentioned you in a comment: **@thecakebarn** fantastic sketch then!”  
“ **PBrewer13** liked your comment”  
“ **PBrewer13** mentioned you in a comment: **@thecakebarn** I bet it is!”

This made David feel warm and fuzzy inside. He was not one for leaving comments on his personal Instragram, so all this _communication_ was new for him. He was happy that little by little his strategy of interacting with followers was paying off.

More days, more cakes, more photos. The likes and comments from PBrewer13 kept coming. Every post. At every chance. And David kept on with the interaction, even on his free days, when he wasn’t on paid time with the Bakery.

He felt like he was cultivating a personal relationship with this person. It was all still very professional – David knew he was representing the Bakery with his posts and comments, and not his own views. But he noticed how with the passing of time, PBrewer13’s comments became a little more personal, funnier, more directed at him than at the bakery per se.

***  
  


For some reason Patrick looked forward to seeing new posts from the Cake Barn every day on his feed. He had gone from almost deleting Instagram because it was doing nothing for him, to checking it constantly, refreshing his feed to see if the Cake Barn (DR) had posted any new photos or live stories.

His little snippets of conversation with DR at the Cake Barn made him somehow _giddy_ with happiness. He had no idea why, and in some way it felt really strange – but he had this feeling inside of him that he was flirting with this person, and were they flirting back? He thought so.

For a couple of moments he had thought that perhaps it was all coming across a bit stalker-ish. He was the first one to like and comment on every photo, to react to every story and he even joined a couple of live streams of a lady called Samantha explaining the different piping techniques (as if he already didn’t know) and tricks for keeping your cakes fresh.

But the more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed to Patrick to feel this warmth inside of him when commenting on photos and replying to comments.

This continued for a few weeks. Patrick had noticed that The Cake Barn was getting popular and he was no longer the first one to like an image or make a comment, however he did notice that very few people – if any – got any replies from DR. Just him.

**PBrewer13** : Does that taste as good as it looks?

 **The Cake Barn** : Indeed it does! You’ve got the taste of nuts coming through… mmm… (DR)

***

New notifications:

“ **PBrewer13** liked your comment”.

“ **PBrewer13** mentioned you in a comment: **@thecakebarn** Oh, I do like nuts. The chunkier the better ;)

**The Cake Barn:** Yes, the nuts are chunky on this one (DR)

 **PBrewer13:** Massive ones

**The Cake Barn:** Always better with a thick layer of cream (DR)

**PBrewer13:** Do you have to beat it until it’s stiff?

  
  


David had been stalking PBrewer13’s profile for a while now. He wasn’t following him officially, but he kept going to check what kind of stuff was being posted. David was very curious, all the innuendos seemed like flirting – _was he flirting or was all of it in his head_? He was trying to figure out as much as possible about him and ascertain preferences.

Here’s what he had found out so far:

  * Good looking male (although there was only _one_ photo of him, damn)
  * Late 20s / early 30s
  * Is into old school vinyls
  * Plays baseball
  * Is into cake innuendos



“Ew David, what are you giggling about?” Asked Alexis one night while they were both laying in bed checking their own phones and not talking to each other.

“Mind your own business Alexis” Snapped David.

“Ooh! Do you have something to hide?” Alexis replied back in her sing-song voice.

“Leave me alone Alexis!”

“Are you in loooooove?”

“Fall off a bridge”

***

Patrick did some digging around. This flirting thing ( _it was flirting, right?)_ that was happening with the person at the Cake Barn was driving him crazy – in a good, amazing way. He had not felt like this for a very long time. In fact, he couldn’t really remember if he had ever had this feeling before.

Getting together with his ex Rachel was something that had happened naturally. They went from being friends to dating, without that initial flirty stage where you are excited to get to know the other person – the seducing, the pursuit, the wooing. So this was new. Patrick loved those butterflies on his stomach every time he got a new notification – however he needed more. He needed to know who DR was.

So he dug around a bit, asked a few questions. Ray was perhaps one of the best people to get information from. He knew everyone worth knowing, at the end of the day… But he needed to be subtle about it. Not raise any suspicions.

“Hey Ray. Do you know the Cake Barn in Elmdale?” Patrick asked casually one morning over breakfast.

“Oh yes – I buy all my special cakes there. They are the best in the area. Samantha has worked there for ages, she’s such a _lovely_ lady – if you catch my drift” Ray winked.

“Yes, Ray. I catch your drift” replied Patrick with a shiver. He did _not_ like Ray winking at him.

“Do you need a cake? I can recommend the black forest gateau. It’s finger licking good”

“No, not right now. But I was wondering if you know who runs their social media? I’ve been following them on Instagram” Patrick said indifferently, looking down at his plate and playing around with his pancakes, as if he wasn’t really nervous to get the answer.

“I do, indeed! It’s David Rose! You may know him, actually? He lives with his family at the motel”

Patrick had heard of the Roses. Everyone had heard about them. When he had first arrived in town, it was one of the first things that people always talked to him about. “They lost all their money”, “their business manager screwed them up”, “they all now live in the motel”, “they are a bit eccentric”, “Alexis is probably the most beautiful girl this town has ever seen”, “Moira used to be a TV star”…

But despite hearing about them, he had to yet meet any of the Roses. Perhaps because all of Patrick’s spare time was spent either hiking or playing baseball, activities that didn’t particularly struck them as Rose-friendly judging by what he had been hearing about them.

So. _David Rose_ then. A guy. Huh. Not what he had been expecting, but not totally surprising based on the kind of insinuations he had been getting from him. This gave Patrick a bit more ammunition to go and find out more about him, the person who had been teasing him online for weeks now.

The first thing that Patrick tried to do was to find David’s Instragram profile, but this proved quite tricky. He found a couple that had potential to be him, but they were both private accounts with very little information, and very vague photos… so he couldn’t be sure.

The second thing that Patrick did was call his childhood friend Tom.

“Tom? Mate, I think I might be gay”

***

 **PBrewer13:** Is that as yummy as it looks?

 **The Cake Barn** : Yes, it is! You should definitely pop over and try it ;) Address in bio. (DR)

David was feeling bold today. He really wanted to meet PBrewer13 ( _what would be his name? Peter? Paul? Patrick? Phil?_ ) and David had hopes that he lived nearby enough to come over the shop. He has been commenting and interacting with him for the last two months – who engages with a local bakery if they don’t live at least close-by? Here’s hoping.

“ **PBrewer13** liked your comment”.

“ **PBrewer13** mentioned you in a comment: **@thecakebarn** Oh, that sounds tempting. Should I come over?”

A DM notification popped up almost immediately. It was from him.

_“Hey, I’m Patrick by the way. We’ve been talking for so long that it kind of felt like I should introduce myself properly. Anyway, I have been meaning to pop round the bakery for ages, but now that I have an official invitation from you, I can’t come up with any more excuses not to. Patrick xxx”_

Oh – David wasn’t expecting that. And the three x at the end? What was that? Oh-oh indeed.

_“Hi David, I’m Patrick”_ – send.

FUCK

_“I think I just called you David… and that’s not your name!”_

FUCKETY FUCK – Can you delete messages in here?!

_“But yes, official invitation and everything – do you need me to send you a card in the post? We like to give our top Instagram commenters the VIP treatment. The card would grant you access to the workshop at the back where all the magic happens”_

That was ok, wasn’t it? It wasn’t too forward?

Instant reply from Patrick:

“Sure. I definitely want to see the rear of the shop. Are there any dark corners?”

FUCK

***

Well, here goes nothing, thought Patrick as he pressed send. It was obvious to him now that they had been flirting. The innuendos, the insinuations. The forwards and backwards that they’d had for the last two months – that wasn’t nothing, right? And he felt right about all of it. The most right that he had ever felt.

His conversation with his friend Tom had been much easier than he thought it would be. He trusted Tom – they had known each other since kindergarten and had been inseparable, even when he started dating Rachel. What he had not expected was Tom’s reaction after he told him.

“Ah Brewer… can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve all suspected something for some time”. Tom sounded serene and undisturbed, as if he had been sitting by the phone waiting for this call, with the script prepared, for the last five years.

Patrick told Tom about David and the bakery, about the last two months of online flirting, disguised under innocent-looking messages about cakes, cupcakes and Danish pastries. He told him the little he knew about David Rose, how he had googled him as soon as he found out who he was, what he found about his past, and how fascinated he was about anything and everything about him. How he wanted to see him more than anything and how he had braved himself to take charge and finally message him.

“Should I go?” The question came out shaky, betraying Patrick’s actual nerves behind it.

“Yes dude. Nothing to lose there – worst case scenario, you buy a cake and go home”

***

David closed his Instagram app and stared at the screen on his phone for a minute. His mind was racing – wondering again and again about the whole situation. He felt _good_ about Patrick and he had never felt good about a person like this before. If anything, his previous relationships had always been tarnished by his money and reputation. He had never been able to show his authentic and real side to anyone. But he felt _genuine_ when talking to Patrick and wondered where this could lead to.

He turned his phone off and headed to Elmdale for his shift.

The journey to work was quiet. David hadn’t even bothered to play his usual playlist – the one that gears him up for work, gets him in the right mood to be surrounded by cakes all day and makes him restrain himself from trying every single one of them, and putting on 10 extra pounds every week. He had lots to think about and didn’t want the music to distract him from his thoughts.

He had invited Patrick to come to the store – that was ok. At the end of the day the whole purpose of his job is to attract more customers to come in and spend money, right? But Patrick’s comment about the dark corners had completely thrown him off his game. Yes, they had been flirting. Yes, he was attracted to him from what he had seen online – ok, he wears straight-leg mid-range denim but he is so beautiful. And yes, he really wanted to meet him in person to see if that chemistry they had online would also translate to a face to face encounter.

But he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Would he come today? Damn, they never agreed to a date or time – and David hadn’t told him about his shifts. What if he came on a day that he wasn’t working? Why couldn’t he think things through before replying to messages like normal people do?

***

Patrick was pacing up and down the corridor that lead from his bedroom to the bathroom. He was seconds short to start biting his nails when Ray popped out of his room and asked him quizzically:

“Everything ok, Patrick? You look like you’re going to leave track marks on the carpet with your marching!”

“What? Sorry Ray – I was miles away… You know, I have to go to Elmdale to run some errands, is there anything you need?” It took a second for Patrick to get back to his senses.

“Will you be getting some cake?” There was a smirk in Ray’s face that Patrick had not seen before. And Ray was _always_ smiling, so this was definitely different…

I can do this, Patrick keep saying to himself on the drive to Elmdale. Of course he could do this, he was **just** going to get some cakes that he really didn’t need from a bakery that is half an hour drive away to meet a guy that he really didn’t know; nothing strange about that.

Patrick left his car in a nearby parking garage and took his phone out to look for walking directions to the bakery. In his almost 3 months in Schitt’s Creek he had still never had the need to go to Elmdale, so walking around the town felt unfamiliar.

He approached the right street and saw the sign for the bakery in the near distance. You couldn’t miss it – it followed the same aesthetic that he was used to seeing on the Instagram page. The black and white, the clean lines, the hideous name.

Patrick hesitated for a moment before braving himself to continue. And then he opened the door.

***

David saw Patrick approaching the store from the distance. He had been nervously waiting for him, despite the fact that he didn’t know for sure that Patrick would be coming today. But he had a hunch. And now his hunch was proving true as he witnessed Patrick timidly advancing towards him.

He couldn’t take his eyes off him. He was shocked to realise that he was even more handsome than he had seemed in that one photo on his Instagram account. He wished he had been more prepared for this dream walking straight at him.

He took a deep breath as the door opened.

***

“Hi…” A barely-there whisper was all that could come out of Patrick’s chest. The smile plastered all over his face, however, spoke volumes.

“Hi…” was all that David could reply back, breathing out, as in relief of finally being face to face with Patrick.

David had come out from behind the counter as he saw Patrick entering the store. So they were now standing very near each other, unable to look elsewhere. The bakery wasn’t busy at this time of day, however the few people who were there stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the interaction happening before them. Nobody made a noise while David and Patrick were staring into each other’s eyes until…

“Oh my god, David! Is _that_ Patrick!?” exclaimed Samantha, popping her head out of the workshop area, absorbing in the thick atmosphere that surrounded the bakery.

The sudden clamour brought both David and Patrick out of their daze back to reality. Patrick couldn’t help but chuckle while David turned around to give an evil stare back at Samantha.

He fixed his attention back on Patrick. How could he not.

“So I never received my VIP card in the post, but I assumed it was ok to come over?” Patrick couraged himself to say once the world restarted from its pause around them and people seemed to be back at minding their own business.

“More than ok – I’m so glad you did”. David remarked. Patrick thought David looked nervous – or maybe he was just projecting his own uneasiness on him. He was trying to keep his face as straight as he could, but he wasn’t sure if he was succeeding though, as suddenly they were both laughing under their breaths.

Patrick was shuffling on his feet, looking around and feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden. Still looking amused, though.

David also looked a bit panicked, moving on the spot but not going anywhere as he looked at Patrick in the eye and attempted to touch his arm, without actually touching him.

“Hang on here, give me a minute”

With that David turned around and disappeared in the back room.

***

“So he came” Samantha’s cheeky face was immovable, examining David’s expression.

“He did…” David is looking directly at her, pleading with his eyes, “Listen, I need to take him out of here before he has any regrets” He was almost begging. “Can you please let Wendy know that I will pick up another shift this week to make up for this time?”

But before Samantha could even reply, David was already twisting on his heels and heading back out to meet Patrick. There was no way that he was going to let him stand there for one second longer than absolutely necessary.

As he came out of the workshop, he stole another glance. David observed Patrick for a second before going back to him. His stance, his dark auburn hair colour, his hands deeply set in his jean pockets, the lines of his lips. _Absolutely gorgeous_ , he thought to himself.

“Do you want to go elsewhere?” David’s tone was optimistic, hoping that having Patrick wait for a few seconds wouldn’t have screwed anything up.

“Absolutely. Do you know of anywhere decent around here to get some cake?” Patrick teased.

Oh, this is going to be fun, David thought to himself as they both left the store, walking down the street in Elmdale looking at each other with massive grins in their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick went to see David at the Cake Barn and they took a stroll across town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who wanted a follow up on the Instalove story for pushing me to keep writing it! Here's a continuation, I hope you enjoy it!

Elmdale is not a big town. I mean, it is obviously bigger than Schitt’s Creek, but it is not big. It is certainly not big enough for more than one bakery, so when Patrick asked David about going elsewhere for cake, David was positive that it was just another one of Patrick’s taunts. The last thing on David’s mind was cake at this very moment in time.

“What do you mean there’s nowhere else to go to?” Patrick stopped on his tracks and stared at David. David looked incredulous, like he was sure that he was just being mocked. But Patrick was still staring at him with those big, gorgeous, shimmering eyes.

“I mean, I could take you to Elmdale’s most precious coffee shop: McDonalds. I hear the coffee and the apple pie there are _amazing_ ”. David was trying to be sarcastic, but he wasn’t sure if the joke had fallen flat, judging by Patrick’s questioning look plastered all over his face. “Or we can always go back to the Cake Barn…” David promptly added, wanting to make an improvement of the situation that seemed to be escaping through his fingertips by the second.

As it happens, Patrick’s questioning look had absolutely zero to do with the absence or abundance of cake and coffee in their near future. David had just not read his look properly. The expression on his face was one of curiosity and inquisitiveness. Patrick was just taking in, properly taking in for the first time, all the little details about David that had been impossible to learn via social media: the quirks, the gestures, the glint in his eyes, the smoothness of his skin. If anything, Patrick’s stare was screaming _You are fucking gorgeous David Rose._

They were still standing on the middle of the sidewalk, on route to nowhere in particular, with other pedestrians walking past, trying not to bump into them. Patrick’s stance suddenly changed. From what David had thought was hesitation to a more relaxed and welcoming poise.

“That’s ok David” Patrick’s gentle eyes had a smile on them as he spoke. “I didn’t think I had to spell this out for you, but I really didn’t come here for cake. I am happy to just walk around for a bit and talk for now? If that’s ok with you?” The connotation of the sentence implied hope, but there was no doubt behind Patrick’s eyes – he knew he was only going to get one and just one answer back from David.

“Yeah” David nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that’s more than ok with me”

They wandered aimlessly around town. They walked past the local hardware store, the library, the fire station, a thrift store, the barbers, a florist... Patrick was fascinated by how much variety there was in this town compared to Schitt’s Creek. He really needed to come here more frequently. They stopped every so often to look at the store windows while chatting a bit about their background. David was under no illusion that Patrick would have already googled him and discovered some stuff about his past, but he didn’t have the same luxury when it came to investigating Patrick’s past. So, if David wanted to know, David needed to ask.

“So where are you from?” David started. It was as good of a starting point as anything else.

“I’m from a small town a couple of hours west of Toronto” Patrick replied.

“Wait, what?” David asked incredulously. “That can’t be right. That’s like a 7-hour drive from here!”

Patrick laughed a hearty laugh. It wasn’t a malicious laugh though, but David couldn’t help but feel like he was being mocked.

“Well, no. I live in Schitt’s Creek _now_. Been in the area for just over 3 months. But before that, I lived in Mt Brydges.” Still with the same joyful tone, Patrick added. “I drive _fast_ David, but not that fast”

David was mortified but in reality, he loved being teased like this by Patrick, even if the implication was the he was the butt of the joke, even if a little bit.

“Ha. Funny” David stuttered out, still blushing from his blunder. He had a half smile, one of the corners of his mouth slightly riding up, creating a beautiful dimple on his cheek.

That dimple was probably the most beautiful thing that Patrick had ever seen, and without even noticing that it was happening, Patrick raised his hand and delicately caressed David’s dimple with his thumb.

“What the…?” David was perplexed, had not been expecting that despite the fact that he had seen Patrick’s hand approaching his face, as if in slow motion. That sudden change in their mood, from teasing to… _what was this?_ really left him speechless for just a second.

“Shit, sorry – didn’t mean to do that. Well, yes… Erm, I _did_ mean to do that, but… mmm…” Patrick was now rambling, cheeks gone crimson red, and it was David’s turn to find the whole thing amusingly cute and endearing. David found that there was something intrinsically adorable in the way he tried to articulate his thoughts in this vulnerable state. What a role reversal, from David’s initial stuttering just a minute ago to Patrick’s drivel right now… David couldn’t stop smiling as he watched Patrick regain his composure and cleared his voice without saying anything more.

The awkwardness at the gesture was soon implicitly and purposely forgotten by the pair of them as they continued their relaxed walk across town. It would be better to pretend that that hadn’t happened, right?

“So! Funny that… Erm… I also live in Schitt’s Creek but can’t say that I’ve ever seen you around” David tried to bring the conversation back to the previous topic, before the hand on the cheek _thing_ had sent them both on a journey of facial expressions, butterflies on stomachs and giggles under breaths.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen you either. Not that I was looking for you… but I know I wouldn’t have missed you”

Truth of the matter is that before David _would_ _have_ missed Patrick if they had ever crossed paths, in Schitt’s Creek, in New York or on a deserted island. Was it fair to say that Patrick wasn’t David’s type? That might have been true at some point in the past, but not now. Patrick was beautiful and funny and sincere: this was exactly the type of person that David wanted in his life now, and would have kicked himself if he had let this opportunity pass him.

Conversation flowed easily after that. They talked about life in a small town. About music. About movies, and theatre, and fashion, and art. And despite the fact that they found themselves liking very opposing sides of each spectrum, they discovered that it was very easy to talk to each other and there was always something they both agreed on. David had grown up in a big city and Patrick was raised in rural Canada, but they both agreed on how lonely growing up in those places could be sometimes. David liked big Divas for his music, Patrick preferred the classic singer songwriters, however they both agreed on being drawn to the lyrics first rather than the tune itself. There was always a meeting point, a commonality that brought them together in every subject.

After a few hours of wandering around Elmdale, only having stopped at a park for a while to rest their feet, their unofficial date came to a natural ending.

“This was fun. I’d love to see you again…” David said in a whisper as they reached Patrick’s car. He couldn’t look him in the eye, having gone all shy all of a sudden. This wasn’t a situation that he had found himself in many times before. The end of his dates had previously consisted in walks of shame or no goodbyes at all. Telling someone, to their face, that you had enjoyed their company was such a foreign concept to David, and yet here he was, saying those exact words to this guy.

“Me too. Can I take you out on a proper date, David?” If Patrick was nervous, he didn’t show. But the strength that he had gathered to get those words out was superhuman. Deep inside he wasn’t nervous, he was _terrified_.

“I’d love that” David replied, carefully bringing his hand up to Patrick’s cheek, mimicking the same caressing movement that Patrick had done just a couple of hours ago. This made Patrick let out some air that he had been holding in his lungs, mixed with a small chuckle. He knew what David was doing and he _liked_ it.

Patrick, swallowing any remnants of anxiety that could have still be affecting him somehow, braved himself to grab David’s hand, bringing it down to the space in between them, interlacing their fingers together, and leaned in to give David a quick peck in the lips. A chaste little kiss that tasted like freedom to him.

“Drive safely, Patrick.”

“I’ll see you soon”.

David stood there, by the side of the road, watching Patrick maneuvering his car out of the garage and driving away. His face was hurting, and he wondered why. He brought his own hand to his cheek to check if he could find the source of his pain, until he realized that the hurt was coming from the perpetual smile plastered on his face. He must have smiled in these few hours more than at any other point in his life. This was so weird.

He went back to the Cake Barn to attempt to finish his shift ( _attempt_ being the key word here, because there was no way that he was going to be able to concentrate right then). Samantha insisted in having all the details, so he told her all about this semi-date with Patrick. How comfortable they’d been, how they had laughed together and it felt so natural. How being teased by him gave him the most electrifying feeling from head to toe. And how that tiny brush of their lips before they said goodbye was met with a taste of promise and hope and future.

At the end of the day, on his way back to Schitt’s Creek, David blasted his favourite playlist through the car’s stereo. The playlist that he reserved for those scarce moments when he felt uplifted and happy. The playlist that he sang to when he is drunk-happy. Only that he wasn’t drunk with alcohol this time. He was drunk with a warm feeling, a glow that was running through his veins and he knew this glow spelt Patrick’s name.

When he got back to the motel, he was very pleased to see that Alexis wasn’t home. It’s not that he didn’t want to see her, he just didn’t want the third degree questioning she was most likely to put him through as soon as she noticed the new smile lines taking hold in his face, which to David’s horror when looking in the mirror, were _very_ noticeable.

He settled on his bed, daydreaming and recalling every second of his time with Patrick. He fished his phone out of his pocket, wanting to send him a quick text telling him that he was missing him already ( _who does that after their first unofficial date? Psychos! That’s who!),_ only to realise that they hadn’t exchanged numbers!

What a rookie mistake!


	3. Chapter 3

Patrick went to bed that night with a massive grin on his face. Today had gone much better than he had expected and all the apprehension he had felt in the morning on his way to Elmdale had dissipated early on . Yes, there had been a couple of awkward moments, but just _being_ with David had felt so easy, so natural and _so_ right. Patrick was giddy, shuffling in bed, unable to settle the nervous energy running through his body. He took his phone out and called Tom.

“So how did it go?”

“Man, it was… it was fantastic”

“And…?”

“What do you mean _and_? What are you fishing for?

“Details Brewer! I want details!”

After a little pause, Patrick decided to confide on his best friend. He let out a deep sigh and confessed to this _little thing_ that had been consuming his insides for the last few hours.

“I kissed him”

“Fuck yes, you go Brewer! Woohoo!”

“Oh fuck off Tom, it was only a little peck… but man, it sent shivers down my spine”

“Awww, are you in loooove?”

Patrick knew Tom’s teasing came from a place of affection and although he wanted to be offended by the way Tom was trying to get such a childish reaction from him, deep inside Patrick knew that perhaps it wasn’t such a ridiculous idea? Like, had he ever felt anything like this before? Probably not. Definitely not with Rachel or with anyone else he had ever tried to be with. This was so new and so exciting.

“Shut up, man. I need to go, got an early start tomorrow for a networking event I’m going to with Ray… and he’s an early riser!”

“Hey, Patrick. Thanks for telling me, and… I’m happy for you. Honestly. It was finally time that you find some happiness”

Tom’s words resonated deeply in his brain as he was settling to sleep. _Finally time that you find some happiness_. And if anyone knew how miserable he had been these past few years, that was Tom. The person who had been there for him at every step, at every milestone, at every turning point. Supporting him through his breakdowns at college when he though he couldn’t cope with classwork, throughout all his breakups with Rachel, through the pain of settling on a job that wasn’t fulfilling him. They may not have seen each other face to face in months, but they’ve always been there for each other. Tom was the closest thing to a brother that Patrick could ever wish for.

The following morning, Patrick woke up with the same grin on his face that he went to bed with. It did help that his awaking was brought to life by the promise of freshly cooked pancakes from Ray. Any other time he would be annoyed by the intrusion, but today the sound of pancakes only added to the fantastic mood that was running through his veins. His mind wondered back to David, to that electrifying peck on the lips, and a wave of goosebumps travelled from the top of his head to the last of his toes, adding to the growing smile on his face.

With his mind still reliving his almost-date with David, Patrick went through his usual morning routine, but with an extra happy bounce on his step as he went through the shower, getting dressed and having a chattier than usual breakfast with Ray. By eight am they were both en route to the networking event, his mind still drifting to the image of that gorgeous man, the feel of his skin under the touch of his thumb, the taste of his lips before saying goodbye.

***

By some sort of miracle, David was able to get up a bit earlier than normal this morning and was back in Elmdale at the bakery half an hour earlier than his usual 10 am start. He had not slept well the night before. Thoughts of Patrick kept invading his mind and he was restless for some unknown reason. He kept second guessing himself, wondering if it could be true that such a seemingly amazing guy could be interested in him. He was excited, nervous and worried. So much could go wrong. And so much could go right. He just wasn’t used to this uncertainty, this growing anxiety when it came to his love life.

“David! Need you at the back!”

Samantha was just about to start decorating a set of three cakes that were going to be used at an upcoming wedding fayre for their stand. Obviously the Cake Barn will be needing promotional materials, leaflets and online advertising, so David’s expertise was more than needed this morning.

As Samantha was piping the first of the cakes and David was taking some “action” shots, they talked about Patrick, because, truth be told, there wasn’t another subject that David was going to allow this morning.

“Have you spoken to him today?”

“You’re not going to believe this, but we didn’t exchange numbers!”

“Just message him on Instagram, that’s what you’ve been doing so far, right?”

 _Doh_ , thought David. How could he not have thought of that himself? It would have saved him some unnecessary stress last night in bed.

“I knew there was a reason for me to come to work today… thanks Samantha!”

“What, other than to do your job and earn your salary? Of course, any time”

David let Samantha continue with the decorating of the cake as he fished his phone out of his pocket and went straight to the Cake Barn’s Instagram account to send Patrick a private message.

**To PBrewer13**

_“Hi Patrick, it’s David. Just wanted to say that I had a great time yesterday. I wanted to text you but realized that we haven’t exchanged numbers! Mine is 416-555-0133. Anyway, I hope you’re having a good day and speak soon”_

The moment he pressed send, he felt another wave of anxiety run through him. Fuck, fuckety fuck. What if Patrick didn’t want to hear from him? Not really possible. If his instincts were right, and he thought they were, Patrick had enjoyed their day together as much as he had.

However, when he hadn’t heard from Patrick an hour later, the anxiety returned with some force to David. Why hasn’t he messaged me, is he having regrets? He sent another quick message.

**To PBrewer13**

_“It’s me again. David. Just wanted to say that I am at work today until 6pm so I may not be able to get to the phone straight away”_

A total lie. His phone was there, right next to him, on loud volume with all the notification settings turned on. But Patrick didn’t need to know that.

David tried to not think about Patrick for the next hour. He took some photos of the cakes as Samantha finished decorating them and spent some time doing some copywriting for the marketing content. Despite his own wishes to push Patrick out of his mind, he kept glancing at his phone for any notifications, and his heart almost leapt out of his chest when it beeped with an oncoming call – but it was just Alexis, asking where her Maria Tash stud earrings were. As if he would know. Bloody Alexis.

By five in the afternoon David was despondent and downhearted, and no amount of free cake offered by Samantha could cheer him up (he still ate two chocolate chip muffins and a slice of the vanilla butter cream cake leftover from a customer tasting session, though). He just couldn’t believe that he could be this heartbroken by a guy he had only spent a few hours with. He was annoyed at himself, for letting his barriers down and allowing to be hurt by a complete stranger.

***

The networking event had been full-on. Patrick talked to people from all over the area. People who had been in business for over 40 years and people who were just starting out. People who had been successful in their endeavours and people who had had to start again after failures. It was such a great experience for him and he was so glad to have attended. He didn’t get to have these conversations with people every day and it was something he had been craving for a while, particularly after having been stuck in a mindless job for so long before moving to Schitt’s Creek.

By the time he managed to catch up with Ray at the end of the afternoon to get back to the car and head back home, Patrick realized that he had not paid any attention to his phone all day. He didn’t get a chance to properly check his phone in peace in the car with Ray (who wanted a minute-by-minute breakdown of everything he had done today) so it was gone 7:30 pm when they got back to the house and Patrick was able to find some privacy in his bedroom. He laid in his bed comfortably and took his phone out.

He had a couple of text messages from his parents, checking in and asking really random questions that were definitely aimed at getting him to call back, a few emails from people who he had met today, and two Instagram DM notifications.

At the sight of the Instagram notifications his mind quickly darted back to David and how he had not contacted him all day. He felt a pang of guilt and anxiety, so he opened the app straight away and went to the direct messages.

Patrick felt relief after reading David’s messages. He sounded keen and had given him his number! Definitely something to be happy about. Not that he had any doubts, his almost-date had gone so well, and if David had felt only half of the electricity he had felt after their little peck on the lips, then Patrick would consider himself a satisfied man.

Patrick saw himself relaxing against the comfortable pillows on his bed, and after scrolling down his Instagram feed, he closed his eyes for a moment and without wanting to, he fell asleep.

***

“But what do you mean he hasn’t called?” asked Stevie in her _usual I’m-listening-but-you-need-to-give-me-more-information-if you-want-me-to-follow-you_ voice.

David had finished his shift at the Cake Barn and got back to the motel, feeling blue and a little bit angry as well. He beelined to the office looking for Stevie and told her everything – about the online flirting that had been going on for months, how they had met the day before, had an impromptu date around Elmdale and the goodbye kiss with the promise of a proper date soon.

Stevie’s face went on a journey of David Rose proportions. She was surprised and annoyed that he had managed to hide all of this from her for months and curious about what would happen next.

“I mean, I have given him my number. And he said he wanted to take me on another date. So the least I can expect is a message or a call”

Stevie was slowly losing interest. It wouldn’t be the first time that David had blown something out of proportion in his own mind and overreacted when there was a perfectly acceptable explanation for everything. As she looked down, shifting her attention back to her book, she idly said: “You’re flustered. Be patient, he’ll call”

Not convinced by Stevie’s “advise” and still peeved by the whole situation, David went back to his room, stood there – in the middle of the space, and stared at his phone. Stared and stared, begging it to light up, commanding it with his mind to receive a sign from Patrick at this very instant.

Resigned that the call would never come, he went to bed – saddened and disappointed on himself for having allowed his hopes to soar.

***

Startled by the faint sound of a toilet being flushed across the corridor, Patrick woke up in the middle of the night, a bit disoriented and looking around the room trying to remember where he was. He had been dreaming of _home_ , or the place he used to call home, those memories of his last few weeks with Rachel coming back to haunt him again.

He reached towards his bedside table, checked the time on his mobile phone and let out a deep sigh when he saw that it was 4am.

In the darkness of the room, with only the light of his mobile phone illuminating his immediate surroundings, Patrick stood up and stretched his limbs. He had had a proper 8-hour sleep and there was no way that he was going to be able to go back to sleep now. He might as well start his day, even if a few hours sooner than normal.

His first thought that flooded his mind was David. He was drowning on a sea of David and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He needed to do something. Like now. So he grabbed his phone again and went back to his Instagram messages again to save David’s number on his contacts.

He pressed the message button straight away.  
  


**_To David -Cake Barn- Rose (4:04 am)_ **

_Morning David._

_Sorry it’s a bit early and I hope this doesn’t wake you up!_

_Was wondering if you’re busy tonight?_

_Would like to take you out_

_It’s Patrick by the way_

_Got your DMs._

**

The incoming messages actually did wake David up. _Who the fuck sends 6 text messages at 4am, one after another, consecutively, in a row?_

David had been restless all night, the turmoil inside him not letting him rest let alone sleep. He would hate himself in the morning, seeing the bags under his eyes and feeling the aching muscles as he moved, but there was nothing he could do about it right now – having run out of his sleeping pills a long time ago.

Huffing and puffing through his mouth, making his annoyance know to Alexis, he grabbed his phone and stared at his screen. Six messages from an unknown number. He considered ignoring them and attempting to go back to sleep. He would be a wreck of a human for the rest of the day if he didn’t get at least 5 hours more. But the exasperation running through his veins at having been woken up in the middle of the night and knowing that there’s no chance in hell that he can leave messages unread, made him reach for his phone again and open it.

Oh.

It was Patrick. That was unexpected?

David read and reread the messages. He went to the bathroom, splashed some cold water in his face and then came back to read them a third time.

“Stop pacing around David! Some of us are trying to sleep!”

He laid face down on his bed, his legs bent at the knees, trying to shake off the nervous energy and thinking about whether to respond now or do it later and let him suffer the same way he had to way for almost 24 hours to hear from him.

No. He couldn’t do it. He had been too desperate to hear from him to make him (and himself) wait.

To Patrick Brewer (4:17am)

_Morning to yourself Patrick_

_Early bird, eh?_

_I am indeed free tonight_

_What have you got in mind?_

David didn’t need to wait long to get a response back.

_Happy to see we’re both early risers, David_

_Can I pick you up at 7?_

**_To Patrick Brewer (4:22am)_ **

_No. No early risers here. You just woke me up with your texts at this ungodly hour._

_Seven sounds perfect._

_Where are you taking me?_

And within seconds, another beep of incoming text.

_Oh my god, so sorry to wake you up_

_Don’t hate me_

_And can’t tell you where we’re going. Would ruin the surprise._

_See you later David_

**_To Patrick Brewer (4:26am)_ **

_I couldn’t hate you even if I wanted to_

_You can pick me up at the motel at 7_

_Looking forward to it_

“I’m going to need a nap today” thought David as his mind, completely awake now, floated away thinking of Patrick.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading - I got this idea the other day and tried to put it to paper, but I think it worked better in my head :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
